Perle at charity said to have terror links

Richard Perle -- who as chairman of the Pentagon's civilian Defense Policy Board advocated the invasion of Iraq -- spoke at Saturday's fundraiser for the Iranian-American Community of Northern Virginia. That group is thought by U.S. intelligence agencies to have ties to Mujahedin-e Khalq and has been listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department since 1997.

The group was supported by Saddam Hussein's Baath Party regime in Iraq for its efforts to overthrow the current regime in Iran.

Perle has said in media reports that he only spoke at the event because he believed it was raising money for Iranian victims of the recent earthquake that killed tens of thousands.

Although the MEK was supported by Saddam and was based in Iraq before the U.S. invasion, many hard-line critics of the Iranian regime have supported the group as a possible dissident group that could help remove the current government.

Perle -- who did not return a call for comment -- has often criticized the Iranian regime and advocated its removal on several occasions.